Three carabinieri were killed and at least 15 police and military personnel were injured in an explosion at a house in Castel D’Anzano, in the province of Verona, in northern Italy, ANSA reported. None of the injuries are life-threatening, BTA reported.
A man and a woman in their 60s, who are brother and sister and had illegally settled in the house, were detained in connection with the incident. A third family member fled and was captured after a search in the area. The detained woman was injured in the explosion.
According to initial reports, law enforcement arrived at the scene together with firefighters to forcibly remove the illegal residents. Then the explosion resounded.
The house had two floors and they collapsed, overwhelming the law enforcement teams. Firefighters were also on the scene, who intervened immediately, but were unable to save the three victims.
According to a source close to the investigation, for some time the authorities have been trying to clear the house of its illegal occupants, who have threatened to blow everything up.
Today, the three occupants of the house placed gas cylinders in various places in it. They opened some of them, so that when the law enforcement forces entered, they would immediately cause an explosion. Eyewitnesses say that the air in the house was literally saturated with gas.
The Italian Ministers of the Interior and Defense, Matteo Piantedozi and Guido Crosetto, expressed shock at what had happened.